Halloween lands on a Saturday this year, right at the end of the school mid-term break. That gives families a full week of spooky days out, plus a bank holiday weekend at the start. The tricky part is working out what’s on, which dates it runs, and whether it suits your kids’ ages.
We’ve pulled together some of the best children’s Halloween events in Dublin for 2026, from glowing pumpkin trails to free fireworks and local community festivals. Each entry has the dates, the best age range and what it costs. Some popular annual events haven’t announced their 2026 dates yet. You’ll find them in a separate section further down, and we’ll update this page as details come out.
Planning the whole week? Our guide to Halloween activities for kids has 15 ideas for home.
Need weekday cover during mid-term? Book a Halloween Camp in Coolock and Tallaght.
Halloween events in Dublin throughout October
Pumpkins After Dark, Newbridge House & Farm
For families looking for an atmospheric Halloween evening without jump scares, Pumpkins After Dark is a lovely option. Newbridge House in Donabate turns its grounds into an evening trail of thousands of hand-carved, lit-up pumpkins, with new displays and a new route for 2026.
- Where: Newbridge House & Farm, Donabate, north County Dublin
- Dates: 2 to 31 October 2026, evening time slots
- Best for: All ages, and especially younger or more nervous children
- Cost: Paid, timed-entry tickets
- Good to know: Availability is limited, so book early. There are discounted “Thriller Thursday” dates (8, 15 and 22 October) and a sensory-friendly evening on Sunday 11 October for children who prefer a calmer visit.
- More info: newbridgehouseandfarm.com
The Haunted Trail: Malahide Samhain Festival
New for 2026, Malahide Castle & Gardens is hosting the Malahide Samhain Festival. It’s built around a woodland Haunted Trail with playful characters, including the castle’s resident ghost, Puck the Jester, and a Samhain Forest where families can discover the Irish traditions behind Halloween.
There are two ways to visit:
- Day Experience: Best for younger children and anyone who spooks easily. Entry times up to 4:30pm, with tickets from €14 plus booking fee.
- Night Experience: The same trail after dark, plus the Samhain Gathering with live storytelling from Candlelit Tales, Celtic musicians and a food and drinks village. Still family-friendly, just more atmospheric. Entry from 4:45pm to 8pm, with tickets from €18 plus booking fee.
- Where: Malahide Castle & Gardens, north County Dublin
- Dates: 17 to 31 October 2026
- Best for: Younger children (Day Experience), all ages (Night Experience)
- Cost: From €14 (day) and €18 (night), plus booking fee
- Good to know: Free parking on site, and it’s easy to reach by DART or bus.
- More info: thehauntedtrail.ie
Luggwoods Halloween and Fall Festival, Saggart
Tucked into the foothills of the Dublin Mountains, Luggwoods runs a story-led woodland trail where kids meet characters and help collect ingredients to fix the forest’s magic. The route includes a ride on the Spookwood Express and finishes at an autumn festival area with scarecrows, straw bales and a pumpkin patch, where every child picks a pumpkin to bring home.
- Where: The Lugg, Saggart, south County Dublin
- Dates: 19 to 31 October
- Best for: Younger children who like a story and a bit of make-believe
- Cost: Paid, book online
- Good to know: Every child takes home a pumpkin, so there’s no need to buy one separately.
- More info: luggwoodsevents.com
Ardgillan Castle: Craic from the Crypt
During Samhain, when the veil between the living and the dead is said to grow thin, the Taylor family, who lived at Ardgillan for generations, “return” to their old home. This atmospheric Halloween tour mixes the castle’s real history with local folklore, including the legend of the ghostly Lady of the Stairs, with a good dose of humour alongside the scares. Costumes are encouraged.
It’s a step up from the pumpkin trails, so it suits older children who enjoy a proper ghost story.
- Where: Ardgillan Castle, Balbriggan
- Dates: 22 October to 1 November 2026
- Best for: Ages 8+
- Cost: See the booking page
- Good to know: Dates cover the bank holiday weekend and the whole mid-term week.
- More info: ardgillancastle.ie
Bram Stoker Festival: Halloween bank holiday weekend
Dublin’s biggest Halloween festival celebrates Bram Stoker, the Dublin-born author of Dracula. In 2026 it takes place over the October bank holiday weekend, so it falls at the start of the mid-term break rather than on Halloween itself.
The festival runs events at venues across the city and always includes family-friendly shows and free events alongside the more grown-up evening programme. Past years have featured Stokerland, a Victorian-style family funfair.
- Where: Venues across Dublin city
- Dates: Friday 23 to Monday 26 October 2026
- Best for: Mixed ages, with age guidance on each event page
- Cost: A mix of free and ticketed events
- Good to know: The programme is due in late September. Popular shows sell out and there are no waiting lists, so book as soon as tickets go live. Under-18s must be with an adult.
- More info: bramstokerfestival.com
Halloween night: Fingal Festival of Fire
Fingal County Council is running free Halloween night events at three locations: Millennium Park in Blanchardstown, Swords Castle and Bremore Castle in Balbriggan. Each starts with live music at 6:30pm, followed by a fireworks display. At Blanchardstown, the fireworks are at 7:30pm.
It’s an easy way to finish trick-or-treating, and a safer alternative to local bonfires.
- Where: Millennium Park (Blanchardstown), Swords Castle, Bremore Castle (Balbriggan)
- Dates: Saturday 31 October 2026
- Best for: All ages
- Cost: Free
- Good to know: Wrap up warm and plan your parking or public transport, as these events draw big crowds.
- More info: eventsinfingal.ie
Indoor and rainy-day Halloween activities in Dublin
Ghostbus Kids Tour
The grown-up Ghostbus is for over-14s, but Dublin Bus also runs a kids’ version, and it’s confirmed to run every day over the 2026 Halloween holidays. It’s a 90-minute tour of Dublin’s spookier history, led by an actor and children’s entertainer, with games and quizzes along the way. It’s played for laughs, though very sensitive children may still find some stories a bit scary.
- Where: Departs from O’Connell Street, near the Abbey Street junction
- Dates: Running every day throughout the 2026 Halloween school holidays
- Best for: Ages 7 to 14
- Cost: Paid, book online
- Good to know: At least one adult is needed for every six children.
- More info: dodublin.ie
Magical Mystical Fun at Dublinia
Dublinia, the Viking and medieval museum beside Christ Church Cathedral, runs a family Halloween event across four days of the mid-term week. Children and adults can join hands-on workshops inspired by medieval traditions:
- Spell jar making: Fill a jar with crystals, herbs and natural ingredients, learn what things like amethyst, rose quartz and rosemary were believed to do, and take the finished jar home.
- Wand making: Design a medieval-style wand using materials inspired by Viking and medieval crafts, while hearing how people in the past used charms and rituals.
Kids get a Halloween craft and a look around Viking and medieval Dublin in one visit, and it’s all indoors, which makes it a handy pick for a wet mid-term day.
- Where: Dublinia, St Michael’s Hill, Christ Church, Dublin 8
- Dates: Tuesday 27 to Friday 30 October 2026
- Best for: Ages 7+, accompanied by an adult
- Cost: Workshops are included with Dublinia admission
- Good to know: Materials are provided.
- More info: dublinia.ie
Worth the trip: Púca Festival, Co. Meath
About an hour from Dublin, the Púca Festival in Trim and Athboy celebrates Samhain and the Irish origins of Halloween with music, folklore, fire shows and street spectacle. It overlaps with the second half of mid-term.
Most of the festival is open to all ages. Families can enjoy the free Púca Procession through Trim, the light projections on Trim Castle and the harvest market. Sorcas na Samhna brings family circus shows with special effects and dance to the Fair Green in Athboy across the whole weekend.
- Where: Trim and Athboy, Co. Meath
- Dates: Thursday 29 October to Sunday 1 November 2026
- Best for: Mixed ages. The Big Top concerts are 16+ and the Samhain Circus is 18+.
- Cost: Many free events, some ticketed
- Good to know: Festival coaches run from Dublin, as well as regular Bus Éireann routes. Book ticketed events early, as popular shows have limited capacity.
- More info: pucafestival.com
Popular annual Halloween events awaiting 2026 dates
The events below run every year but haven’t confirmed their 2026 dates yet. The details are based on last year, and we’ll update them as soon as the new dates are announced.
Boo at the Zoo, Dublin Zoo
Boo at the Zoo is one of Dublin’s most popular Halloween traditions. In 2025, it ran from 25 October to 1 November with a Halloween scavenger hunt, pumpkin carving, themed keeper talks and Halloween discos, and children in costume got in free on Halloween with a full-paying adult.
- Where: Phoenix Park, Dublin 8
- Dates: 2026 dates TBC
- Best for: All ages
- Cost: Zoo admission (in 2025, kids in costume went free on Halloween with a paying adult)
- Good to know: Pre-booking is required, so keep an eye on the Zoo’s website from early October.
- More info: dublinzoo.ie
Halloween at Airfield Estate, Dundrum
Airfield’s working farm in Dundrum runs a Halloween programme for younger children every year. In 2025, its Halloween Hoedown ran over the bank holiday weekend and mid-term, with themed crafts, puppet shows, storytelling and sensory play.
- Where: Airfield Estate, Overend Avenue, Dundrum
- Dates: 2026 dates TBC
- Best for: Toddlers and younger kids
- Cost: Included with general admission in 2025
- More info: airfield.ie
Free local Halloween festivals in Dublin (2026 dates TBC)
Some of the best-value Halloween events in Dublin are run by the local councils in parks and community centres. Most are free, and they’re often closer to home than the big attractions. The 2026 line-ups haven’t been published yet, but these run every year.
Dublin City Council neighbourhood festivals
In 2025, Dublin City Council ran around 20 community Halloween events across the city between 20 and 31 October, most of them free. On the northside, these included Darndale Together After Dark, the Kilmore West Halloween Spooktacular, the Donaghmede Monster Mash, Pumpkins in May Park and the Edenmore Fireworks Display. There were also festivals in Crumlin, Cabra, Finglas, Ballyfermot and the Docklands.
- Best for: All ages
- Cost: Mostly free
- More info: dublincity.ie/events
Tallaween, Tallaght
South Dublin County Council’s Samhain festival in Tallaght has become a local favourite, with free family events in the run-up to Halloween. It ran in 2024 and 2025, and 2026 details are expected in October.
- Best for: All ages
- Cost: Free
- More info: sdcc.ie/en/events
Which Halloween event is best for your child’s age?
- Toddlers and younger children: Airfield Estate, Luggwoods, Pumpkins After Dark, Malahide Day Experience
- Primary school age: Malahide Samhain Festival, Dublinia (7+), Ghostbus Kids (7+)
- Older children: Ardgillan Castle (8+), Ghostbus Kids (up to 14)
- Mixed ages and the whole family: Bram Stoker Festival, Púca Festival, Festival of Fire, local council festivals
Need weekday cover during mid-term?
Most Halloween events happen in the evenings or at the weekend, which doesn’t help much if you’re working Tuesday to Friday.
Astropark runs a four-day Halloween Camp from 27 to 30 October 2026, from 9am to 3pm, for children aged 5 to 12 at our Coolock and Tallaght venues. It’s an option for parents looking for daytime activities during the school mid-term break, with a mix of sports, games and group activities.
Find out more about Astropark Halloween Camps in Coolock and Tallaght.
For ideas to fill the evenings at home, see our Halloween activities for kids.
